


beat the heat

by paperthinn



Series: seeley's favorites [9]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Domestic, Established Relationship, Freckles, Gender-Neutral Pronouns, Hot Weather, Ice, Isolation, Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-26
Updated: 2020-04-26
Packaged: 2021-03-01 20:41:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 907
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23853235
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/paperthinn/pseuds/paperthinn
Summary: There's a heatwave in London; it's hotter than Draco can ever remember it being.
Relationships: Draco Malfoy/Harry Potter
Series: seeley's favorites [9]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1715506
Comments: 2
Kudos: 26





	beat the heat

**Author's Note:**

> idk where non-binary draco came from but here they are ! there's no definitive "hey, they're nb!!!" but draco uses they/them pronouns and so the third-person (and harry) refers to them as such ! 
> 
> plus, who doesn't love a couple of cute gender-neutral terms of endearment from mr. potter?
> 
> tbh i was just vibing and then this cute lil idea of harry freckling and draco suddenly becoming aware of it popped into my head !!! so here that is :)) its also like 4AM so please excuse any typos lol
> 
> mind the notes at the bottom, please :-)

There's a heatwave in London; it's hotter than Draco can ever remember it being – and the air conditioning is broken in the small apartment Harry and Draco share. The blonde was to blame for a short time, having a short temper after getting too cold and rushing to turn the air down. It had stopped working moments after that, spluttering to a stop. Their brunette lover is covered in a thin layer of sticky sweat, shirtless where he's spread himself out face down on the slightly-cooler wood floor.

They'd moved the rug and the coffee table aside to make space, as the two people weren't the smallest wizards in the world, but the floor wasn't cold enough to keep them from overheating. The freezer was tempting; Draco had stood in front of it, shirtless, with the door open for a few minutes a little bit earlier, reluctantly laying back down after Harry had scolded them from his spot on the floor. After getting a call from the wizard's downstairs neighbor, a friendly muggle who lives with her son, Draco had reported that seemingly everyone in their complex was suffering from the heat with no air conditioning to soothe it.

The problem comes, of course, when the building manager informed his tenants that it wouldn't be any cooler than burning hot in the building until a few days from now. Isolation was making things difficult for businesses, Draco supposes, even the bigger ones. The Malfoy was lucky they were isolated with their lover, who was less than enthusiastic to deal with the suffocation of the heat that drifts through their shared home. 

Draco pushes themself up and slinks over to the fridge, plucking a few ice cubes from the freezer and walking over to drop down next to Harry, swinging their thigh over his lower back to straddle him. Harry _humphs,_ not overly excited at having another human's heat being transferred to his already too-hot body. Draco places their palm flat by Harry's left shoulder, presses the ice-cube between their fingers into their lover's skin. Harry tenses and then sighs, relaxing at the cool feeling of ice sliding down his back in a random pattern.

"You have freckles, you know?" Draco hums, uses their pointer finger on their left hand to dust gently over Harry's skin, poking at his back every now and then, "All the way down your back." Harry pushes out a breath, hot air clashing with the cold water that's drying and mixing with his sweat, beaded on the tan expanse of his back. He'd laid out for a bit a few days before, when there was a nice breeze, on the balcony under the sun.

"No, I didn't know that, darling," Harry can almost hear Draco's smile at the endearment, shifts a bit so his lover can balance themselves better where they're sat on his buttocks. "I can't see my back, you know," Draco laughs, swats at Harry's back, drags the rapidly melting cube down the brunette's skin again. They reach the waistband of Harry's pants and Harry sighs again, presses his cheek to the floor where it's cool for only a moment.

"I never knew you freckled. I should've paid more attention back at Hogwarts; I bet you looked lovely after a Quidditch match in the sun." Harry chuckles then, warm and fond, remembering the rivalry between him and his blue-eyed lover. That was a long time ago, and Draco had turned out to be kind; soft even, after the war. Draco also sounds quite nostalgic as they recall Hogwarts, having been under pressure in their younger years but still calling the old castle home.

"You paid plenty enough attention to me, darling. I think my father freckled… or maybe it was my mother," Draco knows Harry doesn't know or remember whether his parents truly freckled or not, but tells themself that they'll look through the few photo albums they have later. It was a small collection, just photos given by friends of both James and Lily for Harry to look through. 

"I did look at you quite a bit. More than you know, really," A muffled laugh punches out of Harry and Draco blushes, a rush of color dusting their cheeks. Harry's body shifts some as the last remains of the ice cube melt away, a gentle tap at Draco's thigh telling them he's about to turn over. It takes a second of awkward movement before they're situated. Harry has that fond look in his familiar green eyes that he gets whenever he looks at his lover, the one that never hesitates to make Draco melt a little wherever they're sat.

"I'm glad you found me interesting enough to look at, your highness," Draco's lips curl into a smile, looking down at the brunette, breathing in a deep breath of hot air. Sweat trickles down their temple and Harry's coated in his own sweat, but Draco leans down and lays on top of him anyway. Harry grimaces for a short moment, not enjoying the sticky feeling of their skin pressing together, before he wraps his arms around Draco's body. Draco tucks their head into Harry's throat, humming a not-so-familiar tune to themself.

The wizards lay there for a long while; they're quite delighted to find that, although they ache from sleeping on the hard floor of their apartment, they're not overheating – the newly-fixed air conditioning is a gentle hum in the background.

**Author's Note:**

> my socials, as always —
> 
> twt: hotchnersmind, boomerrjoseph  
> insta: paperthnn  
> pinterest: severussnxpe


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